Charlie Puth One Call Away
by ThoughtBubble101
Summary: A romantic story centered around love at first sight. It seemed so silly and cliche to Charlie until he saw her. She was the embodiment of beauty combined with a great personality and a great taste for mystery novels. And Charlie was drawn to her. He shouldn't have been. She was a nobody to the rest of the world, but that wasn't going to stop him.
1. Charlie's first meet with her

Of all places Charlie could have picked to visit, it had to be the bookstore. Just a five mile drive down the road from his place at 11 o'clock at night. They were the only place open this late within a 15 mile radius. Which was a little weird considering this was L.A. and just about every store was open past midnight.

Regardless, Charlie's mission was to run in, grab a copy of his newest obsession, pay for it, and get out. With his head down, he made his way to the back of the store, making a sharp turn to the left into the mystery section and almost running straight into the most beautiful woman in the world.

Charlie skidded to a halt on his tip toes and waited for a response from the other person. Confused, he looked to her face to see if she had even noticed him. She hadn't, but he had.

He noticed everything. Her green hat, her large, rectangular glasses hiding most of her face, her long brown hair that was braided over her right shoulder, her adorably small ears, her thin neck, her violet colored sweater that swallowed her whole, her black tights just barely stopping halfway down her calf, and a pair of green high top converse to finish it off. She was maybe 5'4 at the most.

Her face was buried in a book. _That book!_ Charlie recognized it as _"Heat Wave"_ by the famous Richard Castle. That was just the start of the series Charlie was planning to read. He had read some of Castle's books before, but this was a different series. Charlie was hooked on the writer from the start, which was why he was in this place at 11:10 at night to begin with.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he stepped nervously towards the wooden bookshelf. The girl still didn't look up. Charlie inched closer, afraid to say something. He was so nervous and he couldn't exactly figure out why.

He stepped forward, closer towards the row of the copies of _"Heat Wave"_.

"Excuse me", Charlie whispered awkwardly.

The girl looked up, briefly apologizing, and scooted backwards. She flashed a small and kind smile before returning to the book in her delicate looking hands.

 _She didn't recognize me_ , Charlie thought with a mental sigh of relief. That meant he could possibly start a normal conversation and possibly get her number and things could possibly go further. _No. I doubt that. There'd be some serious complications and I'd never hear the end of it from my adviser. But friends are okay, right?_

"Is this your first time reading his work", Charlie asked nervously.

"Um, no actually. I've read all of the Storm Series", she answered, barely looking up.

"Well, I don't mean to interrupt, but I've been planning to read that one. Is it any good so far", Charlie asked with a sweet smile.

"Even better than expected", she said, flipping to the next page.

Charlie sensed that she didn't exactly like being interrupted. He could understand that, but he wanted to keep talking.

"What's your favorite book by him", he continued.

"I haven't decided yet", she answered quickly, sneaking a glance up at him from behind her navy blue frames.

"Is that so? And what about the show", Charlie asked.

"Castle? Yeah, it's pretty good, I guess", she remarked.

"You know, I hear it's ending soon", Charlie added.

"It's such a shame. I wonder if they'll continue to make the books", the girl said, finally fully looking up from the book and staring directly at Charlie.

Her stare made Charlie suddenly feel flustered. He blushed and hid part of his face behind his left hand. Charlie cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yeah, I know right. Uh, the name's Charlie. Just Charlie", he said as he extended his hand.

He was afraid to tell her his full name. _I mean just because she doesn't know my face doesn't mean she hasn't heard of my name before_ , Charlie thought.

"Haha, okay, 'Just Charlie'. My name is Elizabeth", she said with a giggle.

Charlie smiled, throwing in his own laugh.

Charlie suddenly heard voices near him. Maybe another row over. _Dang! More people! And you know what that means, Charlie. The more people, the bigger chance you'll get recognized._

Charlie felt disappointed that he couldn't stay and chat with Elizabeth, but he needed to leave before they saw him.

"Well, I hate to suddenly go but I have to head home. Is it safe to assume you'll be here tomorrow", Charlie asked.

"Tomorrow, the next, maybe even the day after that", Elizabeth answered.

Charlie smiled. As he backed away he frantically searched his brain for a final comment. Something smart and cool, maybe.

"Safe travels", was all Charlie could think of to say.

 _Nailed it_ , he thought. He turned and hurried towards the entrance. He rushed out before the people in the row over could even guess he was there. The cold air hit his face as he looked up at the stars. Before hurrying to his car, he made a quick wish.

 _I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight: Pretty please be there again, tomorrow Elizabeth._


	2. Charlie meets her, again!

Charlie entered the bookstore, once again, at 11 at night. His daily schedule barely gave him enough time to pee, let alone go out in public to buy a book. Sure, he could get it online, but there wasn't an Elizabeth online.

Charlie hurried to the back of the store, turning left into his usual section. Again, almost slamming straight into the same girl from yesterday.

"Oh, Elizabeth, you're here again? Hi", Charlie smiled.

"Yes, I'm trying to read it here, so I don't have to buy it", Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Hm, I see your point", Charlie remarked with a small nod.

"Are you planning to buy a copy, this time", Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, yeah. I am. Could you hand me one", Charlie asked.

"Sure. Here ya go", she said as she turned, pulled one out, and handed it to him.

Out of nervousness, Charlie reached too quickly and accidentally grabbed a part of her hand. It was like a small bolt of electricity went through her hand and into his. Elizabeth dropped the book and for a second, they just stood there, speechless.

"Oh, um, l-let me get that for you", she stammered.

"No I-", Charlie started to squat down next to her, only to bump against her.

Elizabeth's phone dropped from an unknown pocket, landing on its face. Charlie instinctively reached for it and they both stood. She with his book and Charlie with her phone.

"Trade", she asked with a smirk.

"Hold on. How about I add to the trade", Charlie suggested.

She raised her eyebrow, her mouth still turned up in a smirk.

"You give me the book and I not only give you your phone back, but I also give you my number as an added bonus", Charlie continued.

"Hm, that's an interesting wager. I may just take you up on that", she said with a small laugh.

"Okay, here's another idea. How about you give me my book and the book you were currently reading and not only do I give you your phone and my number, I also buy both copies? One for me, one for you", Charlie added.

"Alright, alright. Stop while you're ahead... I will take that offer, though", she said with a smile and a chuckle.

Charlie grinned and nodded happily.

"Alright then, lets head to the register. I'm sure they'd like to close up shop soon", he said, motioning towards the front of the store.

Elizabeth nodded, grinning now. The both walked to the front of the store, stopping only because of a slight hand motion from Charlie.

"I'll go buy them. Will you wait for me at the door", he asked, not wanting to take a chance of the cashier recognizing him in front of Elizabeth.

She shrugged and walked towards the entrance. Charlie hurried to the register, setting both books down. The woman working behind the desk rung up both books, looking up and slightly jumping in surprise.

"H-hello. Are you... Charlie Puth", she whispered, leaning forward a bit.

Charlie smiled politely and gave a quick nod.

The woman smiled and nervously cleared her throat.

"$30.72. I love your music by the way", the cashier added with a blush.

"Thank you very much. And here is your money", Charlie handed the lady the money and waited for his change.

"By the way, do you happen to have a pen I could use for just a second", Charlie asked.

The lady stopped for a second and slipped a pen out from behind the desk. She handed it to him and started counting up change. Charlie opened the flap of one of the books and scribbled his name, a short sentence, and his number down. He handed the pen back and accepted the change along with his receipt.

"You have a great day, ma'am", he said with a nod as he took both books with him to the entrance.

Elizabeth was staring at the stars through the glass doors. Charlie stepped forward and opened the door for her.

"Why thank you, Mr. Just Charlie", Elizabeth said with a smile.

They left the building and stopped at the crosswalk, facing each other.

"Well, I'm parked over there, so before I go, can I have my things", Elizabeth asked.

Charlie smiled, handing her the book and her phone.

"There, you now have your phone, a free copy of "Heat Wave", and my number", Charlie said as he tapped on the book.

"Thank you, I might just text you later", Elizabeth said with a smile and a turn.

"Safe travels, Charlie", she yelled over her shoulder as she made her way to her car.

Charlie placed a hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh. He blushed and started making his way towards his car. He looked up at the stars once again and threw out another wish.

 _I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight: Elizabeth, safe travels and pretty please shoot me a text._

Elizabeth's P.O.V.

Elizabeth smiled as she reached her car. She threw open the door and hopped in. Before she started it up, she picked up her copy of "Heat Wave" and opened the flap.

 _"I'm only One Call Away!" -Charlie_

Elizabeth smiled, the reference shooting straight over her head.

"Sure, I'll give you a call. But later, I'm tired", she said as she slammed her door and started up her car.


End file.
